AMHERST — Two incumbents elected in 2014 and a challenger, who is also seeking a term on the School Committee, are running for the two, three-year terms available on the Select Board at the March 28 town election.

Robert Greeney, 76 McClellan St., a Holyoke Community College physics professor who serves as an elected Town Meeting member, will be on the ballot alongside incumbents Constance Kruger, 15 Hop Brook Road, a former senior planner for Amherst from 1986 to 2002, and Andrew Steinberg, 17 Hitching Post Road, the retired executive director of Western Massachusetts Legal Services.

Robert Greeney

Seeing a need to develop a culture of working together, Greeney, 70, said he intends to make implementation of the “languishing master plan” a priority, if elected.

“I think it will be to our benefit to engage on what are our common values,” Greeney said

While he appreciates that more housing is being built through mixed-use projects, Greeney is concerned there is little variety to what is going up.

“We need to look at housing as a multidimensional issue,” Greeney said

He argues that town government is not working as well as it could, as exhibited by the splits between Town Meeting and the Select Board and other elected and appointed officials. This was most recently demonstrated on the recent vote on the $67 million project to build two co-located schools at the Wildwood School site, a project that divided the town, but which won unanimous support from the Select Board.

Being a fiscal conservative, Greeney said he would rather focus on better resource management and cutting spending than finding ways to increase revenue.

The Select Board also needs to have more divergent voices. “We can disagree, but we can harness that to be more productive,” Greeney said.

Constance Kruger

In seeking a second term on the Select Board, Kruger, 68, points to her advocacy for enhancing commercial growth, supporting developments in downtown and village centers that meet the goals of the master plan and providing more affordable housing.

Projects are bringing more tax revenue to Amherst and making the town a more livable place for people in all socioeconomic groups, Kruger said.

“I feel we’re moving in that direction,” Kruger said.

But she understands that not everyone agrees with this assessment, and she hears criticisms that there hasn’t been meaningful dialogue with those who disagree.

“I listen to people, but then I hear people say they haven’t been heard,” Kruger said.

During her tenure, the biggest challenge was navigating the death of Town Manager John Musante in 2015, and then having interim town managers and undertaking a rigorous search process to find a permanent successor.

Kruger said she is committed to supporting the four capital projects: the co-located elementary schoold, an expanded and renovated Jones Library, and new Department of Public Works headquarters and a South Amherst fire station. “I think we need them,” Kruger said.

She is also interested in how Amherst goes about making itself a sanctuary community and remaining a place people with any immigration status feel comfortable.

“I want to work at keeping Amherst welcoming to everyone,” Kruger said.

Andrew Steinberg

Maintaining sound fiscal management, having transparent and open processes and continuing to build relationships with the University of Massachusetts and the colleges are goals for Andrew Steinberg, 68, should he win re-election to the Select Board.

One way of ensuring good finances is to continue to endorse the co-located schools as the best financial plan for the town.

“Challenges I see ahead are the capital projects and managing all the financing for these projects,” Steinberg said.

Like Kruger, Steinberg reflects on the difficult work after losing Musante.

“Certainly the most challenging and most unexpected was to hire a new town manager after the death of John Musante,” Steinberg said.

Having dealt with high-risk drinking by college students, Steinberg said he recognizes the looming recreational marijuana sales as a potential issue.

“The marijuana law needs a lot of work to make sure it’s implemented in Amherst in a way that meets voters’ beliefs and protects us as a college town,” Steinberg said.

Steinberg said if voters choose to change form of government next year, he is committed to working toward a smooth transition. If the Select Board remains after the charter vote, though, then he said it will also be clear what needs to be done.

“We will work toward reducing issues with current government,” Steinberg said.

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